It's hard to know since we're talking broadly here, but my question is how difficult is it for you to learn skill b? Also, do you have any experience with skill b? Maybe you can talk in generalities for skill b if you get the interview.

I have some background in skill b, and was in a mentorship program at my current job for that skill. It was mostly high level, but I learned a lot. I def can speak in generalities, but wondering how i can leverage my mastery in skill A as the main selling point/most value for the team

So, I would actually avoid spending too much time talking about skill A. Maybe balance it like 30/70 (A to B).

Here's my thinking:

If someone wants a Marketer and someone is currently in Finance but wants to switch to marketing it wouldn't really work well for them to spend 100% or even 90% of the interview talking about their strength is Finance because--though marketers will need to manage budgets--we're not 100% certain if the interview is looking for that.

Instead, spend as much time talking about the thing you know they are looking for. In my above example, the Finance person should spend more time talking about any marketing projects he/she has been involved in and then maybe position his finance experience as more about analytics and ability to see what the market wants, analyze data sets, manage lean operations, etc. You want to position his skills in finance to make them relevant for the skill you know the job is hiring for. In this case, marketing.

So for you, spend as much time you can talking about skill B and if you need more examples then talk about how your experience at A is relevant to skill B. And, at the end of the interview, when they ask you if you have any questions, ask them if they will need people with experience in skill A and see what they say. If they say "Yes, that would be valuable" then jump into your deep knowledge there. If they say, "Nope. We just want skill B people." then go deep on how your experience makes you qualified.

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